Leading innovation: 5 valuable lessons I learned from my team

There’s no steeper learning curve than running a startup, and as Qcify has grown by leaps and bounds I’ve gained my share of hard-earned lessons: some from my own experiences, others from customers, and many of them from my own team. They are the ones who have taught me what it takes to lead a company that is continuously evolving and transcending boundaries.???

#1 Listen

There are several different leadership approaches you can take as head of a company. The old school, authoritarian version turns me off for several different reasons. One of them is that you miss out on a lot of valuable input from your employees. Listening is an important value for us as we strive to understand our customers and incorporate their feedback into our product design. Applying that value starts within the team. Being in receiving mode opens you up to the unexpected, helping you break out of pre-set mind frames. And that, of course, is the essence of innovation.

#2 Action first

Over the years I’ve learned the importance of not waiting for the ideal conditions to act. It’s usually a better idea to jump in feet first, within a limited risk context. Acting creates data, the input we need to adjust and refine. That’s one of the pillars of the DevOps mindset that drives our business. When one of my employees comes to me with an idea, I invariably tell them “go for it.” Maybe it’s a bad idea, maybe it’s a brilliant idea, but probably it’s a pretty good idea that needs some refining. We can only find out by acting first.

#3 Stay hungry

We live in a world where staying still is not an option. We need to stay on top of change, picking up new expertise and repositioning ourselves. My employees are masters at this, and I’m happy to be influenced by their insatiable hunger for knowledge and skills. Not only does it help them grow personally and professionally, it feeds their ability to collaborate in an interdisciplinary and synergetic way. When team members understand each other’s work better, they are better able to give feedback, question each other’s approach or provide solutions. And learning new things keeps us passionate and driven!

#4 Balance is everything

Technology is our passion, but people are who we are doing it for. As a tech company, our human team members are our most important asset. Our team has grown fast, but we’ve carefully selected members who fit our ethos so that we can keep growing in a sustainable way. We are truly building the future together, and I want to keep these people on board. Unlike the robots we are working on, people require rest, exercise, variety and time with loved ones to perform optimally. We also make sure to incorporate fun, humor and adventure. When we balance out our hard work, we can be at our most creative and innovative.

#5 Lead by example

Learning lessons and espousing values is a great foundation for creating a strong company culture, but it’s important to actually embody these values. As non-hierarchical as your company may be, it’s still crucial for leaders to lead by example and put everything the company stands for into practice, every day. By staying curious and spending a lot of time speaking to my team and customers, I keep my mind open and receptive to new ideas and ways of thinking. I also make a point of taking a step back once in a while to get some perspective and exemplify the value we place on balance. That way we stay energized and inspired to keep moving forward!??

What important lessons have you learned from your team? Please share them!